Page 29 - BELRptDec18

9.0 Industry & Sectors 9.1 Sector news
9.1.1 Oil & gas sector news
Cash-strapped Belarus sees little progress in crucially important oil and gas price talks with Russia , according to the nation's newly-appointed ambassador to Russia Vladimir Semashko. "The oil and gas negotiations have brought little progress," the diplomat, who was responsible for energy negotiations with Russia as the first premier until recently, said in a televised interview. "We will have to work further... The talks have been difficult." Minsk and Moscow seek to secure energy deal by December 15. "There are doubts as to whether [an agreement will be reached] by December 15, but we will agree sooner or later," he added amid growing worries in Minsk about new financial crisis, which could be triggered by Russia's expected tax manoeuvre, which envisages a gradual reduction in the rate of export duty on oil and petroleum products from 30 % to zero in the period from 2019 to 2024 and a proportionate increase in mineral extraction tax on oil production. According to the Belarusian finance ministry, the country’s budget revenue losses from the tax manoeuvre in 2019 alone were estimated at BYN600mn ($300mn), and that the losses might total $2bn by the end of 2024. Belarus’ foreign exchange reserves increased by $181.3mn, or 2.6% month-on-month, to $7.108bn in October. However, significant part of the reserves was created by bonds issued by the National Bank of Belarus (NBB), which the regulator should repay within the next 12 months. The bondholders of these notes are local commercial banks. Earlier, the nation's Prime Minister Sergei Rumas said that Minsk and Moscow would agree on a compensation scheme before the end of this year. "The Russia n government also understands that the consequences of the manoeuvre will affect Belarus’ budget revenue and its petrochemical companies," BelaPAN news agency quoted him as saying. "The Belarusian side believes it would be correct if this compensation were [in the form of a reduction] in the price of oil supplied to Belarus. We have been tasked by the heads of state with negotiating this matter and submitting a specific mechanism for their consideration before the end of the year."
9.1.2 Automotive sector news
Belarusian automobile engineering company BelAZ ramped up its exports by almost two fifths (39.2%) y/y in January-October 2018 compared to the same period in 2017, BelTA reports. BelAZ is the world leader in producing giant mining trucks and holds a third of the global market. According to preliminary estimates, over the ten months the company boosted output by 55.5% over the same period a year before. Russia has been one of the company’s best markets this year, with sales up by nearly by a third. Deliveries to the CIS market in general are up 1.8-fold. The company shipped to over 20 countries worldwide in January-October. The major new markets included Bangladesh and the Philippines. And after a seven-year break, the company resumed supplies to Chile in October. The majority of orders from overseas come for dump trucks with the lifting capacity of 110-130 tonnes, 220-240 tonnes and 45 tonnes. “BelAZ does not only produce dump trucks, but also introduces new technology and builds up its intellectual potential, which allows
29 BELARUS Country Report December 2018 www.intellinews.com